Replacement officials are currently being used for preseason games, and will be used during the regular season if a new agreement isn't reached.

The NFLRA disputed four main issues it says the NFL has stated publicly:<br />

1) It claimed the NFL's desire to hire three additional crews under the stated goal of providing more rest for referees and more options for the league represents a major reduction in the proposal without also increasing the aggregate compensation allocated among all officials.

2) The NFLRA took issue with the NFL's stance that issues remain in the concept of "full time" officials and additional officials. The NFLRA stated it is not opposed to full-time officials as long as they are compensated fairly, but the NFL has never made a proposal.

3) The NFLRA said the most recent proposal from the league includes "aggregate game fee compensation" increases of 2.82 percent per year, in contrast to the 5-11 percent the NFL has claimed the proposal represents.

4) The NFLRA claims the league's pension plan has been "unchanged during the entire 10 months of negotiations," while the NFL has said its pension plan "has been aggressively fair."

The NFLRA cited the league's increased revenues from $6.5 billion to $9.3 billion during the last contract period in contrast to the NFL providing a "take it or leave it" stand in negotiations the NFLPA claims changes none of the "core economic issues."

As part of the NFLRA's statement Thursday, the union urged for "meaningful negotiations" to take place:

"The NFLRA has requested aggregate compensation increases less than what the NFL and NFLRA agreed to in the 2006 CBA agreement and the continuation of the defined benefit pension plan for current officials. At a time when the NFL demands that its officials maintain the highest level of integrity and serve as guardians of the game by impartial enforcement of the rules, the NFLRA believes its professional members are entitled to fair treatment in return."